


Highly Recommended

by IAmANonnieMouse



Category: Inception (2010)
Genre: M/M, POV Original Female Character, POV Outsider
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-31
Updated: 2015-12-31
Packaged: 2018-05-10 18:47:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,683
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5596813
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IAmANonnieMouse/pseuds/IAmANonnieMouse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There’s a list in the dream-share community, one that no one talks about but somehow everyone knows about. On it are the people who are the unquestionable best at what they do.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Highly Recommended

There’s a list in the dream-share community, one that no one talks about but somehow everyone knows about. On it are the people who are the unquestionable best at what they do. Dom Cobb used to be on that list, with Mal, but he was removed by unspoken agreement after whispers of the nightmare that was the Fischer job spread.

Arthur was added to it after his second year dream-sharing, and he hasn’t budged from the Number One Point Man Spot ever since.

Eames is on there, too – the only Forger on the list.

At the bottom of the list are notes about which people work best together. Cobb and Arthur were there for a long time, and within years of her introduction to the community, Ariadne was added with Yusuf, Arthur, and Eames. Most surprising, however, is the addition at the very bottom of the page, with its own added disclaimer:

_Arthur and Eames. Most successful team in business. Warning: You will worry that they will murder each other before completion of job. Do not be concerned. Plans always run smoothly._

~+~+~

Emily is relatively new to the dream-share community, but not so new that she doesn’t know about the list. She is hired to be the extractor and architect of a team of her choice for what appears to be a humdrum corporate espionage case. She calls her usual companions, and her point, Wes, begins his research. Two days later, he, and all her other teammates, are long gone, running for the hills after Wes reveals that the job involves a highly militarized subconscious and that their mark is the secret son of the most powerful mob boss in the area.

Emily is screwed.

She thinks of the list, tries to figure out who would actually agree to help her and who would actually be helpful. She remembers the note about the infamous Arthur and Eames. She has nothing to lose.

~+~+~

They arrive at her small warehouse in France not even twenty-four hours after she calls them. She can hear them before they enter the room.

“Oh please, darling, we didn’t have to cut the trip that short. We could have enjoyed the sun for at least one more day before rushing over here.”

“Eames, enough. She sounded scared.”

“Never thought you were the type to fall for the damsel in distress, love.”

“Eames.”

They stride into the room, looking exactly as the rumors say. Arthur, with his black hair slicked back and a fancy-looking jacket. Eames, with a strangely-colored t-shirt and outfit that shouldn’t match, but does.

“Hi,” Emily says nervously. “Thank you so much for coming.”

Arthur smiles slightly. “Thank Miles and Ariadne. They both know you and said you would be an excellent architect.”

Emily blushes a little and notices the look Eames throws at Arthur. Arthur ignores it and walks over to a table, laying his bag on top. “I’ll get started, shall I?” he asks no one in particular. He strips off his jacket, rolls up his sleeves, and, it seems, is suddenly surrounded by stacks of paper, a laptop, and a small notebook.

Eames snorts at Emily’s shocked expression. “Come over this way, Em, and we can get started on the planning.” He glances over his shoulder at Arthur. “He’ll be a while.”

~+~+~

At their insistence, Emily agrees to bring in Arthur and Eames’ friend Yusuf to be their chemist. He arrives just as quickly as Arthur and Eames did, and now Emily is brainstorming with two famous members of dream-share. Arthur never seems to move from his table, eyes glued to his laptop screen or the papers balanced on his lap.

“We should forge his body guard,” Eames is saying, “who also appears to be his closest friend and confidante.” He looks at Emily and Yusuf, who each nod in agreement. “Arthur,” Eames calls, “I need a way to meet with the mark’s–” 

Arthur’s waving a piece of paper in the air before Eames can finish. Eames jumps up to grab it, but Arthur doesn’t let the paper go. “If you get caught,” he says, staring Eames down, “this whole job is finished. Don’t get stupid and cocky.”

Eames dramatically places a hand over his chest. “Me, darling? I would never.”

Arthur glares at him and returns to his work.

Yusuf is laughing softly, but Emily can’t figure out why.

~+~+~

A week into the planning process, Emily feels like there’s something with Arthur and Eames but she doesn’t know what it is. The little things don’t add up.

She’s arguing – shouting, really – one afternoon with Yusuf over his somnacin compound, worried that it will be too strong and too dangerous (she is not having a repeat of the now-infamous Fischer job) when Eames groans and stands up. “I’m knackered. Who wants some lunch?”

Yusuf immediately grabs his coat and stalks toward the door, and Emily slowly follows suit. Maybe a break from this all would be helpful. She glances over at Arthur, in his corner, still researching, one hand rubbing his forehead. He’s always there before she arrives in the morning and when she leaves late at night. Has he even left the building since he arrived?

“Arthur,” she calls, “do you want to come?”

He doesn’t respond. Eames nudges her toward the door. “Let’s not bother him, yeah?”

They go to a small sandwich shop a block away, and Eames orders two sandwiches, one to go. They all eat their food, enjoy the sunshine, and return to the warehouse. Yusuf returns to his chemicals with a sigh. Emily is hanging up her coat when she sees Eames put the other sandwich he ordered on the desk in front of Arthur. He starts to walk away when Arthur grabs his wrist, eyes still glued to the papers in front of him. Eames smiles softly and ruffles Arthur’s hair. Emily sees a small smile flicker across his face, and Eames walks away, humming.

She frowns as she realizes that, despite what the list warned, they actually haven’t bickered once.

~+~+~

Arthur finishes all his research within the next week, and now all four of them are talking through their plans. Eames and Yusuf are suggesting and then trashing ideas faster than Emily can follow, and Arthur is sitting in a chair, notebook on his knee, frowning.

“We should only need two levels,” Eames is saying. “We can easily finish this job in two levels.”

“But I’m telling you I can make a compound for three that is much safer than–”

“Just because we can use it doesn’t mean we should,” Arthur interrupts. “Why make this job harder than it has to be? It will already be dangerous with the subconscious’ projections.”

“Exactly,” Eames says. “If we work quickly and efficiently, we can do this job in two levels easily.”

Yusuf sits back, eyebrows raised. “You’re agreeing?” He laughs. “Married life suits you, eh?”

“Oh piss off,” Eames mutters. Arthur raises a brow and tilts his head to the side.

“What should each level be?” Emily asks. “How will I know what to build?”

Arthur sighs. “What if we use the hotel from Fischer for the first level?”

“And you would be the dreamer?” Eames asks.

Arthur nods.

“Absolutely not.”

Arthur’s eyes flash. “Why the hell not, Eames?”

Eames glares at him. “You know why.”

“You are not serious.”

“Deadly.”

Yusuf snorts. “I take it back. Married life does not suit.”

Eames and Arthur shout, “Shut up” in tandem.

“Eames, you said yourself, we need to make this job quick and clean. I will take the first level and hold off the projections while the rest of you go down and get the information we need.”

The two glare at each other, then Eames sighs and rubs his face. “Fine,” he mutters. “Fine.”

Emily looks between the two of them. “So then what will the second level be?”

Arthur and Eames glare at each other for another minute, then look away, and the tension in the room vanishes before Emily truly noticed it was there.

“I have a few ideas,” Eames begins with a small smile.

~+~+~

They decide to run the job when the mark is flying from France to Boston.

“This is eerily reminding me of our last job together,” Yusuf comments.

Eames snorts. “Well at least this time we know the subconscious will be armed, and if we die we don’t fall into Limbo.”

Yusuf has the decency to look embarrassed.

Arthur walks over to them all, bag slung over his shoulder. “All set?” he asks, standing beside Eames.

“Ready when you are, darling,” Eames says with a smile.

Arthur rolls his eyes and walks away.

~+~+~

The plan goes off without a hitch, and soon they’re safe in a hotel room, preparing to go down another level. Yusuf hooks himself up and falls asleep immediately. Emily has a little trouble finding a good vein, and she glances up when she hears murmurs from across the room. Arthur is kneeling on the ground next to Eames, inserting the needle into his arm. She watches them, sees how Arthur gently holds Eames’ wrist and sees the smiles on each of their faces, and things start to fall into place.

“Be back before the kick,” she hears Eames say as she inserts the needle into her own arm.

“Go to sleep, Mr. Eames.”

~+~+~

The job runs perfectly and soon they’re landing in Boston. They all make it through customs and ignore each other, just to be safe. Emily retrieves her suitcase from the baggage claim and spots Eames waiting off to the side, a single suitcase on his cart. She follows his eyes and sees Arthur grabbing two mismatching suitcases off the conveyer belt, one navy blue, the other an ugly yellow.

Emily smiles to herself and passes them as Arthur makes his way over to Eames and the cart. She glances down at their hands out of curiosity as she passes by, the first time she’s even thought to check, and spots matching silver bands on their fingers.

Best team in the dream-share community, she thinks. No wonder.


End file.
